GocheGanas Nature Reserve
Admire 25 different game species roaming the 6000 hectare Nature Reserve, totaling approx. 1,600. As well as a fascinating variety of birds.
GocheGanas GAME
Game on GocheGanas include steenbok, duiker, klipspringer, red hartebeest, wildebeest (blue), eland, Burchell zebra (protected mammal in Namibia), springbok, oryx (gemsbok), kudu, giraffe, waterbuck, warthog, Hartmann’s mountain zebra (endemic, one of Namibia’s conserved mammals), square-lipped (white) rhinoceros (second largest land mammal), cheetah, leopard and black wildebeest.
Amongst the small species you can spot honey badger, african wild cat, bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal, yellow mongoose, banded mongoose, suricate (meerkat), ground squirrel. The primate Chacma Baboon occurs in large troops.
GocheGanas GEOLOGY
The beautiful landscapes are evidence of Damara Mountain building processes some 600 million years ago and later volcanic eruptions 30 million years ago. These eruptions were numerous in the surrounding area and are recognizable in the reddish quartzite outcrops. The impressive mountain range in the south, form the border between GocheGanas and the Rehoboth District. Many different rock types are present in these mountains, but quartzite and schist is the most common. The Usib River, originating from the Auas Mountains, winds its way through grassy flood plains on it’s path to Rehoboth. Altitude: the height above sea level varies between 1,714 – 2,211m.
GocheGanas FLORA
Highland Savanna (Berg thorn Savanna), this veld type characterizes the central, mountainous areas of the territory and covers the farm GocheGanas. Typical trees found on GocheGanas are species like the mountain thorn (Acacia hereroensis), candle-pod acacia (Acacia hebeclada subsp. hebeclada), black hook thorn (Acacia millifera subsp. detinens), Kudubush (Combretum apiculatum subsp. apiculatum), wild pear (Dombeya rotundifolia), worm-cure albizia (Albizia anthelmintica) and the shepherd’s tree (Boscia albitrunca).
Along the dry riverbeds the camelthorn (Acacia erioloba), karee (rhus lancea), buffalo thorn (Ziziphus mucronata) and sweet thorn (Acacia karroo) occur. Common shrubs are the gabba-bush (Cataphractes alexandri), brandy bush (Grewia flava) and the Camphor bush (Tarchonanthus camphorates).
The average rainfall at GocheGanas Nature Reserve is 366 mm per year with temperatures ranging from a minimum of 3,9° C to a maximum of 38,1° C. The average humidity is 34%.
